Devices for cutting clay or other plastic material

ABSTRACT

A device for cutting clay or other plastic material comprises a row of cutter wires mounted for rotation about a fixed axis. A tube extending across the row of wires carries a plurality of wiper bushes through which the wires extend. The tube is reciprocated along the wires during rotation thereof so as to clear residual clay from the wires.

Waited States Patent 11 1 Wiewel Sept. 11, 1973 DEVICES FOR CUTTING CLAY OR OTHER [56] References Cited PLASTIC MATERIAL UNITED STATES PATENTS 75] Inventor: JosefwieweLwestphalia Germany 479,663 7/1892 Riggs 83/651.l X

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [731 Assign: '9 191,278 11 1907 Germany 83/168 Westphalia, Germany 22 i Jam 6 972 Primary Examiner-J. M. Meister App]. N0.: 215,831

Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 8, 1971 Germany P 21 00 819.5

US. Cl 83/1168, 83/307.3, 83/65l.1 Int. Cl B2611 4/10 Field of Search 83/168, 307.3, 307.1,

Attorney-Mason et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT A device for cutting clay or other plastic material comprises a row of cutter wires mounted for rotation about a fixed axis. A tube extending across the row of wires carries a plurality of wiper bushes through which the wires extend. The tube is reciprocated along the wires during rotation thereof so as to clear residual clay from the wires.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures DEVTCES FOE CUTTING CLAY OR OTHER TILASTTD MATERTAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to devices for cutting lengths of plastic material into individual pieces, for example lengths of clay or similar material into pieces or blanks suitable for subsequent moulding.

2. Description of the Prior Art One form of previously proposed such cutting device comprises cutters in the form of a group of cutter wires which are spaced apart by a distance corresponding to the desired length of the individual pieces to be formed. The group of wires is rotated about a fixed axis and passes through the clay or other plastic material during its rotational movement. When the cutter wires emerge from the clay, particles of clay and small impurities from the clay remain clinging to the cutter wires. Unless the cutter wires are cleaned prior to the next cutting cycle, then during the subsequent cycle of operation, there will appear on the edges of the blanks thus formed a burr which adversely affects the appearance of, and diminishes the value of, the blanks.

It has been proposed to clean the cutter wires using cleaning means in the form of wipers or brushes located in the path of movement of the cutter wires. However, none of these cleaning means effect complete cleaning of the cutter wires. The wipers or brushes are only located on one side of the cutting wires, so that they only clean one side of the wires. Further, the cleaning means is liable to rapidly soil so that the cutter wires for the most part carry the particles of clay away with them again and are not sufficiently clean forthe following cut.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTTON According to the present invention, there is provided in a device for cutting a length of plastic material into individual pieces, a row of spaced cutter wires, means mounting said row of cutter wires for rotation about a common axis, and cleaning means moved by rotation of the cutter wires about said common axis to clean the wires, said cleaning means comprising guide means eccentric with respect to said common axis and link means guided in said guide means and extending across said row, said link means having recesses through which the cutter wires of said row extend.

Further according to the invention, there is provided in a device for cutting a length of a plastic material a rotatable support member, a plurality of cutter wire means carried by the support member,-said cutter wire means extending transversely to the axis of rotation of the support member and being spaced along said axis of rotation, cleaning means engaged on each of said wire means, and means for reciprocating the cleaning means along the wire means during rotation of the wire means about said axis of rotation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. l is a side elevation, in section, through a cutter device in accordance withv the invention, the section being taken on line l-I in FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section taken on line ll-II in FIG.

ll; and

FIG. 3 is a section to,an enlarged scale through a bush for cleaning cutting wires of the device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in the drawings a multi-wire cutter device comprises two axially spaced rings 1 and 2 mounted for rotation on a common shaft 3. The shaft 3 is rotatable in a frame (not shown). The rings 11 and 2 are connected to each other by axially extending rods 4, 5 and 6, which are secured at equal distances from one another on the adjacent faces of the rings 1 and 2. A plurality of cutter wires extend under tension from each of the rods 4, 5 and 6 to the shaft 3, adjacent wires being axially spaced by distances corresponding to the length of the individual pieces or blanks required. As particularly shown three rows 0, b, and c of axially spaced wires 7 are provided, each row extending between a respective rod 4, 5 or 6, and the shaft 3.

A cutting plate 8 which supports a length of clay 9 is mounted below, and to one side of, the shaft 3, and lies within the locus of movement of the rods 4, 5 and 6. The cutting plate 8 is provided with slits, the width of which corresponds to the thickness of the cutter wires 7.

Annular guides 10 and l l which are located eccentrically with respect to the shaft 3, are disposed on the frame axially beyond the locus of the rings 1 and 2 respectively, the inner diameter of the guides being sufficient to allow the length of clay 9 to be passed therethrough. The guides 10 and ll can have any desired form; as shown the guides have an inner and outer circular periphery.

The guides 10 and 11 have guide slots or tracks 12 i and 13 respectively, in which run rolling friction bearings, e.g. ball-bearings 14, 15 and 16, and l7, l8 and 19 respectively. Pairs of oppositely-disposed ball bearings 14 and T7, T5 and 18, 116 and 19 are in each case connected by a link in the form of a tube 20, 21 and 22, each asociated with one row of wires a, b and c. The tubes 20, 21 and 22 are provided with recesses 23, through which the individual cutting wires 7 extend. To facilitate guiding of the cutting wires through the recesses, there is inserted into each recess 23 a bush 24 (FIG. 3) preferably a steel bush, in which wiper lips 25 made from rubber or the like are located, and which closely engage around the cutter wires 7.

Due to the rotation of the rings 1 and 2 and thus of the cutter wires 7, the ball-bearings 14, 15 and 16, and 17, 18 and 19, by virtue of the connection of the tubes 20, 21 and 22 to the cutter wires 7, are moved around the guides 10, 11 so that the tubes 20, 21 and 22 are reciprocated along the cutter wires '7 whereby the wiper lips 25 of the steel bushes 24 located in the recesses 23 of the tubes slide reciprocably along the cutter wires 7 and clean them of clay.

The device particularly described is of simple construction, is reliable in operation, requires no maintenance and substantially ensures perfect cleaning of the cutter wires during working.

I claim:

1. In a device for cutting a length of plastic material into individual pieces,

a row of laterally spaced cutter wires,

means is annular.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said link means comprises a tube.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein a respective said guide means lies adjacent each end of said tube, said tube carrying rolling friction bearing means engaged in said guide means.

5. A device according to claim 1 further comprising bushes, a respective said bush being mounted in a respective said recess.

6. A device according to claim 5, further comprising wiper lip means mounted in each said bush.

7. In a device for cutting a length of a plastic material a support member rotatable through 360 a plurality of cutter wire means carried by the support member, said cutter wire means extending transversely to the axis of rotation of the support member and being spaced along said axis of rotation,

cleaning means engaged on each of said wire means,

and

means for reciprocating the cleaning means along the wire means during rotation of the wire means about said axis of rotation.

# i i i i 

1. In a device for cutting a length of plastic material into individual pieces, a row of laterally spaced cutter wires, means mounting said row of cutter wires for continuous rotation about a common axis, and cleaning means moved by rotation of the cutter wires about said common axis to clean the wires, said cleaning means comprising guide means eccentric with respect to said common axis and link means guided in said guide means and extending across said row, said link means having recesses through which the cutter wires of said row extend.
 2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said guide means is annular.
 3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said link means comprises a tube.
 4. A device according to claim 3, wherein a respective said guide means lies adjacent each end of said tube, said tube carrying rolling friction bearing means engaged in said guide means.
 5. A device according to claim 1 further comprising bushes, a Respective said bush being mounted in a respective said recess.
 6. A device according to claim 5, further comprising wiper lip means mounted in each said bush.
 7. In a device for cutting a length of a plastic material a support member rotatable through 360* a plurality of cutter wire means carried by the support member, said cutter wire means extending transversely to the axis of rotation of the support member and being spaced along said axis of rotation, cleaning means engaged on each of said wire means, and means for reciprocating the cleaning means along the wire means during rotation of the wire means about said axis of rotation. 